Collage and Digital Bricolage

October 27, 2014

Some time ago I posted some ideas for 3 dimensional collages and it’s an idea I’ve been working with since.  I ultimately want to produce collages that can be made and viewed as 3-D installations; are “dynamic” or have the ability to change; and, hopefully track some aspect of people’s memories (or memory generally) in relation to the net.  Faham is presently adapting the Bricobrowser to source ‘dynamic’ collages from a growing archive of content rather than sites themselves (which we’ve discovered DO NOT change over time).   I’m now working with a new graduate student named Andrei Fehereghazi who makes brilliant, animated short films.  Andrei, who seems to understands what I’m after, is helping me determine how best to create dynamic 3-D collages using projection mapping and other tools.

I have a lot of intelligent assistance and inspiration but without ongoing technical support, I seem always left doing what I know how to do which is to make collages similar to the handmade collages I used to make.  And although I’ve always wanted to increase the gamut of content (I’ve been creating a large archive of downloaded materials which I have categorized), I’ve realized that I am attracted to certain kinds of materials and should accept that even as I search for new sources and materials.

The collages posted here are part of a new ongoing series of small collages, tentatively entitled Lotus Eaters, created from the types of materials I collect in my archive.  Like earlier handmade collages, the materials are ‘bookish’ in size and content.  The size is similar only because most images posted on the web are jpegs and small in size.  I look for the same kind of materials that I would with handmade collages – aged paper, documents, texts, illustrations, old half-tone photos etc.  As a former printmaker, I’m just as attracted to ‘how’ content is presented (engravings, half-tones etc.) as I am in the content itself.  As far as content is concerned I am fascinated by the enormous range of humanity’s folly, bizarre beliefs, personal and constructed histories, etc.

These collages, then, are similar to earlier collages, again, but with the exception of the added 3D element obtained by dropping shadows between layers.  The trick now is to learn how to create similar large scale, dynamic collage installations.